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Above the Curve

My little boy was diagnosed with right-side gaze preference and plagiocephaly (= a flat/lopsided head) at the age of 2 months, and we have been going through bi-weekly physical therapy treatment sessions with him ever since he was about 3 months old to work on his motor skills. I didn’t realize how much the Asian influence of striving for excellence has been so deeply ingrained into my own upbringing until this past week when the physical therapist announced, “Well, good job little guy! You’ve caught up to your appropriate age group!”

Without realizing it, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I guess for the past 5 months, I’ve subconsciously been holding my breath, wondering if my child is just not as awesomely brilliant as all mothers imagine their children to be. And then, following my sigh of relief, the next immediate question that crossed my mind, “What does she mean, caught up to the appropriate age? like he’s just (gasp!) AVERAGE? Why is he not advanced? How do I push him to be more advanced? ”